The National Unity Platform (NUP) party head of institutions, David Musiri, has said that the party is working hard to create strong institutions by building the capacity of university student leaders under the National Unity Platform Party umbrella.
While speaking to Nexus Media on January 9, 2024, Musiri emphasised the need to build the capacity of university leaders since they are pivotal in party building and are most likely to engage in active politics after their university days.
Musiri gave the example of former Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga, Medard Ssegona, Muwanga Kivumbi, and many other leaders in parliament who started their activism and politics in their university days as leaders or activists and have continued to serve in different capacities as elected leaders.
“As NUP, we acknowledge that in any generation, the future lies in students, and that’s why you cannot have any revolution where students are not involved as catalysts of change. Students can liberate this country through a student’s revolution, just like it was in Sudan, and that’s why it’s important to keep them closer and work with them closely, ” Musiri said.
Musiri further talked about the opportunities available and the need to consolidate students and student leaders into the party, with the party helping them to build their capacity by employing them and sponsoring them for further education and short courses for those interested.
“In the party, we have very many departments, so we are trying to recruit these young men and women in different departments; some are accommodated here and some are in different sections, but we are still connected, and we have networks that anytime they are called upon, they can avail themselves,” he added.
Musiri further said that there has been a state of interference in university elections, where many of the opposition student supporters have been arrested and harassed by security operatives.
“We have the Uganda National Students Association (UNSA), which has been taken over by the state. UNSA would have been an office that would have ignited change in this country or caused a revolution, but as we speak now, UNSA is under siege and there is nothing it can do,” Musiri noted.
After registering as a political party in Uganda, the National Unity Platform has enjoyed wins at key universities such as Makerere University and Kyambogo University and has, in the last few years, expanded to other universities in Uganda like Makerere University Business School, Gulu University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, and Muteesa Royal University. It has also won other big seats on the boards of other universities and tertiary institutions.
